Knife-handle and method of making the same.



P. SIGGINS & .E .-COOP E KNIFE HANDLE AND M OF MAKING AME.

APFLICATIO UNE 17' I913.

1,18%,698. Patented Junel3, 1916.

' invention; Fig.

produce a sightly,

'binations of KNIFE-HANDLE AND MET'HDD OF MAKING THE SAME.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented June 13, 1916.

Application filed June 17, 1913. Serial No. 774,103.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, IsAc P. SIcoINs and JAMES E. COOPER, of Perry, in the county of Wyoming and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Knife-Handles and Methods of Making the Same; and we dohereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the same, reference being had to. the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification, and to the reference-numerals marked thereon.

Our present invention relates to the manufacture of handles for knives and similar hand implements, and is more particularly adapted to the manufacture of handles for pocket knives, and it has for its object to provide a simple method ofsecuring malleable or slightly malleable handle plates to knife scales or to the corresponding element in the structure of the implement.

A further object ofvthe invention is. to

dle that may be produced rapidly and cheaply in large numbers by a simple method and particularly one inwhich the handle plates are composed of paper or fiber, the invention being directed in part more particularly to the fastening of handles of this particular composition onto the knife scales.

To these and other ends the invention consists in certain improvements and comparts all as will be hereinafter described, the novel features being pointed out in the claims at the end of the specification.

In the drawings: Figure l'is a plan view of the female member of a die couple such as we prefer to use in the practice of our 2 is a central longitudinal section therethrough, showing a portion of a completed knife handle therein; Fig. 3 is a transverse section through both die members taken substantially on the line 3-3 of Fig. 2, but showing the knife handle in cross section previously to the pressing operation; Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 3 showing the positions ofthe same parts at the completion of the pressing operation; Fig. 5 is a plan view of a knife scale blank such as the invention contemplates; Fig. 6 is a plan view of the handle plate blank; Fig. 7 is a plan view of the finished handle, and Fig. 8 is a perspective view of the scale strong and durable hanplate of a finished handle with the handle plate omitted.

Similar reference numerals throughout the several figures indicate the same parts.

The construction of knife handles in accordance with the present invention may be readily accompanied by a coincident embossing of the handle in accordance with features of the invention set forth in our previous and co-pending application, Serial N o. 7 68,123, filed hence illustrated it herein in connection with an embossing die such as there shown and described. As stated in that application, aside from the cost of the material itself, one of the chief objections, from a manufacturing standpoint, to'the use of bone, horn and other similarly frangible ,sub-v stances as handleplates for pocket knives and similar implements is that there is a considerable percentage of loss and waste due to the cracking or chipping of the handle plate both in the course of manufacture and subsequently when the knife is in use. In the factory, the application of the rivets commonly used to hold the knife together and to secure the handle plates thereon is perhaps the most frequent cause of this chipping and breaking, whereas the handle plate of the finished knife will often crack from simply being dropped upon a hard surface. By the practice of our present invention, handle plates may be made from paper to constitute indestructible and more,

securely 'fastened elements of the knife structure with or without a coincident embossing operation in imitation of the less serviceable and relatively expensive materials above mentioned as provided for by the invention of our other application re ferred to, but a substantially different method of securing the handle plate in position is contemplated by this invention whereby a different style of handle may be pro- .duced from that previously disclosed by us.

Referrin more particularly to the drawings, 1 indlcates the scale plate of a pocket knife to which the handle plate is directly,

connected and between a pair of which the springs, blades and linings are comprised.

his is usually constructed of a relatively thin piece of brass, steel or other sheet metal with or without bolsters 2 at the'ends there of. The handle plate 3 preferably corresponds in outline May 16, 1913, and we have to the scale plate or, at 110 scale plate 1 uppermost tapered sides a least, to that portion comprised between the bolsters 2 upon which it is superposed and we prefer to use as the material thereof hard black paper or what is known as commerthe substance of this nature largely used in electrical apparatus as an 1nsulating material being eminently suitable.

While held together in superposed relationship, the two plates are placed beneath a suitable punching die (not shown) with the and a plurality of securing projections such as the spurs indicated at 4 in Figs. 2, 3, 4 and 8 are struck up from the body thereof and at the same time driven and embedded into the material of the handle plate 3 in which cavitiesfor the reception of the spurs are thereby simultaneously formed. 9

Though a relatively hard substance, this fiber possesses sufficient malleability to permit of such impressions being made therein because of its extreme toughness and duracrack or break. The spurs 4 are disposed angularly when completed so as .to'present an undercut surface at 5 and the material of the handle plate 3 in fact possesses just that slight degree of elasticity after the impact of the punching blow to react slightly and-grip the spurs with a retaining .presder ordinary circumstances with the aid of the bur that is left on their edges by the punching operation.

We prefer not to rely, however, merely upon the fastening thus fardescribed but "arrange for a more thorough and positive lnterlocking of the two plates which is accomplished by a further operation that may ,or may not comprise the act of embossing the handle plate as well in the manner set forth in our application above referred to.

. But it may well accompany this operation in which-case the two plates 1 and 3 connected by the spurs are laid with the handle plate 3 lowermost within the cavity of a female die block 6 havin an embossing surface 7 at the bottom t ereof and inclined sidewalls 8. At this point, the handle plate 3 lies well above the surface 7 as shown in Fig. 3, its corners resting on the inclined or of the cavity. A male die closely fitting the cavity is then brought down and the scale plate 1 and handle plate 3 driven down together fiatwise to the bottomof the cavity as shown in Fig. 4 and compressedbetween the die members under extreme pressure,- say in the neighborhood of twenty tons to the square inch, or 'suffi- 'cie t to imprint the design 7 upon the under face of the blank 3. Simultaneously with this action the edges of thehandle plate 3 are forced inwardly from the side by reason of the tapered walls 8 of the die cavity with- 4) g v U with the application of sufficient power, and.

bility there is no accompanying tendency to' sure which is suflicient to hold them in un-- the result that the whole plate is subjected to great general internal and external pressure. Its density is increased and the slight malleability it possesses allows a displacement or flow of the materialback'within the cavities formed by the securing projections or spurs 4 as indicated at 10 in Fig. 4 and an interlocking thereof beneath the under cut surfaces 5 of the spurs. The intimate association of the two plates established by the. pressure is thus rendered permanent I aside from the other advantageous results obtained with articular reference to the handle plate 3 itself for a full understanding'of which reference is again directed to our prior application in which it is more minutely described and claimed.

The securing spurs or projections 4 need not and preferably do not extend entirely through the handle plate 3 and in the event that-the embossing operation is joined with the securing operation, as shown in the present embodiment, the exterior surface of the handle plateis in no way mutilated.

Of course, other materials possessing the same or a greater degree of malleability may be used for the handle plate in the practice of our invention, but in view of the extreme. durability of the fibrous material suggested; its cheapness and its capability of taking the embossings and of taking a good polish or finish we prefer to use this particular. material which, we have discov- 'ered,

possesses hitherto unrecognized characteristics permitting its use in such capacities and under such treatment. It may be said at this point that inorder to increase the ductility. ofthe fibrous material the blanks 3 are preferably heated just prior to their introduction between the dies and pressed out while hot or, if desired, the dies themselves may be heated.

.We claim as our invention:

1. A .method of securing fiber handle pieces upon knife scales which consists in superposing a metal scale plate upon the handle plate, in then punching out an oblique angularly disposed spur having an unde'rcut surface from the body of the scale j plate at a point removed from its edges and simultaneously embedding it in the material of the handle plate andin then subjecting the handle plate to su-fiicient simultane- I -ous fiatwise and edgewise pressure to compress and flow the fibrous material thereof beneath the undercut portion of the spur and cause it to interlock therewith against withdrawalof the spur. I

2.'As an article of manufacture, a knife handle comprising a scale plate and a handle plate of fibrous'material, the latter having embedded therein an angularly disposed spurv struck'out from the material of the scale plate at a point removed from its edges to produce ail-undercut portion beneath which the fibrous material has been simultaneously driven into the material of 1c flowed or compressed to produce an interthe handle plate Without extending comlocking relationship. pletely through the latter.

3. As an article of manufacture, a knife ISAC P SIGGINS 5 handle comprising a scale plate and a han- JAMES'E COOPER dle plate of fibrous material, the latter having embedded therein a spur that has been Witnesses:

struck out from the material of the scale W. D. OLMsTEn, plate at a. point removed from its edges and vSauna CORYELL. 

